expenses

How are families paying for college? Grandparents. Or, at least, grandparents and other relatives are kicking in more for a studentâs education. The amount of money from relatives â often grandparents â and friends rose to an average of $1,247 this year, a 40 percent increase over last year. Thatâs according to Sallie Maeâs annual report, âHow America Pays for College,â which is based on a survey of 1,600 parents and students. Student loan giant Sallie Mae found that families …

Most people define their net worth in dollars. As a financial planner, I define net worth in time. Allow me to explain. When I ask people to tell me what money means to them, I hear words like freedom, security and independence. Money, and having enough of it, allows us to do whatever it is that makes us happy. Reframing wealth as time turns some millionaires into paupers, and it makes those with $250,000 in 401(k) savings into the very …

Youâve heard this before, I know, and yet it remains as disturbing as ever. Health care costs, along with housing, are likely to be your biggest expenses in retirement. Boston-basedÂ Fidelity Investments found that premiums, deductibles and other out-of-pocket expenses could cost a 65-year-old couple retiring today a jaw-dropping $220,000 â and thatâs in addition toÂ Medicare premiums. Some boomers are heeding that forewarning: In a survey of 1,002 workers age 50 and older, 62 percent say theyâre socking away money for …

You need some expensive medical care yet don’t have the insurance or money to pay for it. Should you use a medical credit card that’s pitched at some doctors’ offices? A new report by the nonprofit Consumer Action warns that some of these cards can be unhealthy for your finances. They usually offer a zero percent introductory rate, though after that period, card terms can vary greatly. The problem is that these terms often are difficult to uncover. So patients …

Too many workers are using their 401(k) savings plan as a piggy bank, tapping it way before retirement for reasons such as toÂ pay off debt, remodel their home or take aÂ vacation they couldn’t otherwise afford. New research from the financial services company TIAA-CREF finds that one-third of 1,000 Americans surveyed in May haveÂ taken out a loan from their retirement savings plan. And 44 percent say they now regret it. The survey looked at what situations caused workers to tap those …

Are you and your spouseÂ thinking about retiring early? Doing so can cost you, as a couple, an extra $17,000 a year in medical costs, according to a Fidelity InvestmentsÂ analysis. The Boston-based investment company compared the projected average health care costs of couples retiring this year at age 65 with those of couples retiring as early as age 62 and as late as 67. It assumed they would have Medicare coverage at 65, although the analysis doesn’tÂ includeÂ costs for nursing home and …